Vatican Museum diaries show
new details of World War II history
Descendants of a former director of the Vatican Museums hand
over a collection of his diaries containing behind-the-scenes details of the
period from 1920 to 1954
By Philippa Hitchen
New details of life inside the Vatican during the period of
the Second World War are coming to light, thanks to the diaries of a former
director of the Vatican
Museums named Bartolomeo Nogara.
Born one hundred and fifty years ago on the banks of Lake
Como, Professor Nogara was named by Pope Benedict XV in 1920 to head the
museums and oversee their modernization.
During the 34 years that he served in that position until
his death in 1954, he kept meticulous notes in his diaries, all of which were
handed over by Nogara’s descendants to the current Vatican authorities on
Wednesday May 2nd.
Jews and dissidents saved from deportation
While it may take some time for experts to examine all 41
diaries, written in Nogara’s neat and clearly legible hand, the Vatican
newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano has already published a few
details, including revelations about Jews and other political dissidents saved
from Nazi deportation by Nogara and his dedicated museum staff.
Some of these are well known stories, like that of German
Hermine Speier, who was fired from her job in 1933 because she was a Jew and
was given refuge in the Vatican museums, becoming the first female employee of
the Holy See.
Art works retrieved from Nazis
Other entries in the diaries reveal many more stories of
members of the Italian Resistance, hidden under false names in the houses of
museum staff, as well as some whom Nogara tried and failed to save from the
Nazi death camps.
They also detail numerous invaluable art works which were
saved from destruction or theft during the Second World War, as the Vatican
museums worked alongside a team of Allied experts to retrieve paintings,
statues, books or other precious archive materials that were seized as Hitler’s
troops withdrew from the Eternal City.
Conversations with Pius XI
Alongside these fascinating historical revelations, the
diaries contain more apparently mundane details of conversations with top
Vatican figures, in particular Pope Pius XI who spent many rainy days in the
museums when he was unable to walk outside in the Vatican gardens.
Finally, the Nogara notebooks give a scrupulous summary of
the modernisation of the Vatican museums in the period between the two world
wars, drawing on the experiences and expertise of other European galleries in
London, Paris or Berlin.
Modernisation of museums
This ambitious project included the photo-documentation of
all exhibits, and the introduction of up-to-date laboratories for the
restoration of ancient paintings, tapestries, and artefacts in terracotta or
precious metals.
Through his painstaking work, Nogara laid firm foundations
for the success of the Vatican Museums in the 21st century. This unparalleled,
behind-the-scenes documentation in his diaries is another unexpected treasure,
that will keep historians and art experts busy for many years to come.
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